


This World Is Cruel

by Bratty_Cadet



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku | Attack on Titan: No Regrets, snk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-10-05
Packaged: 2018-03-30 12:27:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3936745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bratty_Cadet/pseuds/Bratty_Cadet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thrown against her will into the violent world of the Underground beneath the three Walls of the Goddesses, a young girl learns the hard way just how cruel life can be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cold and Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Levi/Reader 
> 
> MATURE ~ There is bad language and the story will eventually feature smut. I know how you all love a good lemon ;) Will also feature angst/romance/rape/violence/death/anxiety/etc 
> 
>  
> 
> Reader Inserts
> 
> [E/C] Eye Colour  
> [H/C] Hair Colour  
> [S/C] Skin Colour   
> ETC

How long had I lain here in this dark, unwelcoming place that was devoid of decency or a caring smile? I honestly couldn't remember. It was difficult to piece together any coherent thoughts inside my scrambled mind at the moment. All that I could feel was the pain of the freezing air that was ceaselessly biting into my delicate, [S/C] skin. Somewhere in the back of my conciousness I surmised that the cold had now numbed my body enough so that it no longer registered the throbbing pain of the numerous other injuries that adorned me ~ small mercies. My unseeing eyes stared blankly upwards, my long eyelashes silhouetted against the deep blue of the sky above, weak breaths emerging from my cool lips and turning into a soft mist as they collided with the freezing air.

My face felt stiff and sticky from a thousand shed tears, and filthy from days and days worth of wandering around the Underground aimlessly, hoping against hope that I would stumble across some miracle that would end my predicament. My half lidded eyes fluttered closed again gently and with more effort than it should have required, I lifted my thin fingers from the muddy, icy puddle of water that they lay in and brought them to rest upon the ragged shirt that covered my taut stomach. I felt it growl under my touch, demanding to be satiated in some way.

A sigh escaped my chapped lips. Food, I'd come to realise, was hard to come by when you weren't used to finding it on your own and had no money with which to buy it. I'd survived thus far by begging people to spare me anything that they could, and when that failed, by stealing from passing vegetable carts and occasionally, rubbish piles. Any dignity that I'd retained was now long gone. Not that I particularly cared anymore ~ I was certain that I'd be dead soon. It would probably be here in this dirty alley way, witnessed by nobody and after recent events, remembered by none. Using what little strength I had left, I raised my arms and covered my bruised face, making the silent decision to accept my bleak fate. I only hoped that the moment would come soon ~ if I was going to die then it might as well be quick.  
As I lay there, thinking of all that had happened and contemplating dark thoughts about what was to come, my senses didn't register the sounds of heavy footfalls as they trod down on the water-logged stone ground.

"Heh, what do we have over here? Fresh meat I reckons. Carsten, check the bitch out."

I let out a weak yelp of surprise as the grotesque figure grabbed a fistful of my [H/C] locks and yanked me upwards and onto my knees. Still weak, my [E/C] irises widened, and I was suddenly filled with panic as I took in the scene before me, feeling stabbing pains on my head where the mans fist was practically ripping the hair from my scalp. I could do no more than whimper as he leaned down to my level and used his other dirty hand to grasp my jaw roughly and yank my face upwards. The smell of alcohol and sweat invaded my senses and made me want to vomit. Grimacing, I tried to turn my face away from his invasive presence but I was just too god damned weak. I felt my heart plummet when another man emerged from the shadows, a heinous grin plastered to his ugly face. The one who gripped me brutally, chuckled into my ear, speaking in a low, devious voice.  
"Looks like we picked up a ripe one here Arno~ she's filthy as shit but just look at that foxy face o'hers, definitely a looker and young too. Not even twenty I'd say, so those dirty old bastards will pay out o'their crooked noses for this one!"

I panicked at his words, bringing my small hands up to grip at his large rough ones in a futile attempt to remove them from my aching jaw. It was no use. My body simply had no strength. I let my arms drop limply to my sides once more as the man named Arno spoke to his comrade. It was as if I wasn't even there, the way they ignored my plight.  
"Well this ones the only pickings we've had all night, looks like we lucked out. For fucks sake Carsten, make sure you don't rip out any of that hair o'hers. You know those perverted old fuckers will lower the price if she's damaged!"

"Sorry boss."

The stinging sensation on my head lessened considerably as Carsten relaxed his grip. I lowered my face, gazing blankly at the worn out cobbles beneath me. What more could I do? Nothing it seemed. I had been resigned to my fate, the fate of dying silently from hunger here in this alley, but this new predicament frightened me greatly. Maybe I didn't really want to perish at all. Why was life so cruel? After all that had already happened, was this extra suffering really necessary? I didn't think that it was possible, but these thoughts brought fresh tears to my eyes and I felt them fall silently over my cold cheeks. I heard Carsten chuckle darkly, his greasy fingers squeezing around my chin tightly as he mockingly shook my face from side to side.

"Aw, look Arno, the little wench is crying! Hehehe, I'd save those tears for later sweetheart ~ you'll need them then."  
I listened to my captors evil words silently, clenching my teeth and willing the tears to cease their flowing ~ I didn't want to give them anymore satisfaction than they already had. What the fuck was I doing? Just giving up and letting them get away with this? When the hell had I become so pathetic? It was ever since my mother had married that bastard, I thought angrily, memories that I'd rather forget flooding to the forefront of my mind. I dropped my head, my messy bangs covering my eyes as I felt my body begin to tremble with a combination of fear and outrage.

"Right, I'm fucking freezing, lets get this over with. Carsten, tie her up and get her in the back of the wagon. Ya never know when those Military pigs could show up."  
Arno's gruff voice and words must have sparked something in me, because as soon as his idiotic lackey moved to stand and drag me to my feet, my adrenaline kicked in and I let out a fierce snarl, gripping his hair covered arm in my hands and biting down viciously. Carsten let out a piercing howl, and instinctively threw me away from him, holding onto his bleeding wrist and yelling out profanities. I caught myself just before falling to the floor again, and without looking backwards, shot off down the dark street as fast as my flimsy legs would carry me ~ the only thing keeping me going was my dwindling willpower.

I heard the blood-curdling sound of the two angry men, echoed against the high walls of the decrepit buildings around me and willed my legs to move faster. I had no clue where I was. It was hard enough to make my way around in the 'daylight' of the underground, let alone in the dead of night. My heart pounded against my ribcage and I found it increasingly difficult to draw my breath, feeling like I couldn't last much longer. Beads of sweat poured down my face and fresh fear gripped me when I realised that my pursuers sounded like they were getting closer. I huffed, trying to take deeper breathes as I ran onwards, silently praying for someone to help me as my scuffed up skirts fluttered out behind me. Without warning, the worn fabric of my flat shoe latched onto a broken stone cobble and effectively brought me to a flying halt. I grunted as my body made contact with the uneven ground, feeling the soft skin of my kneecaps tear away painfully. I coughed, hissing as I attempted to push myself back onto my feet ~ the cold stone had grazed away the skin on my palms as well. Fucking brilliant.

Before I had the chance to stand, I was yanked forcefully from behind by the fabric of my shirts collar. A strangled gasp erupted from my throat, my body shaking from exertion and fear as I realized that I'd been caught. The next thing I felt was a blinding pain as one of the men's large hands made contact with my small face. Blood spouted from my burst lip as I cried out in agony, and I recognised the arms that gripped me to be that of the man whom I'd bitten back in the alley. He pulled me roughly upwards, and I was so close to his face that I could feel his rotten breath on my lips. His face was contorted with rage as I struggled to free myself from his grasp, the left side of my face aching where he'd backhanded me without mercy.

"You little fuckin' bitch! Think you can get away with pullin' a stunt like that? Heh. Screw those old bastards. I'm gonna enjoy fuckin' you up, whores should know their place!"  
He brought his thick knee upwards suddenly, and I let out an involuntary groan as the appendage jarred me in the gut savagely. He threw me to the ground, where I writhed and gasped miserably, trying and failing to draw oxygen into my lungs. I curled up where I lay, all hope dying when I heard another set of footsteps clacking against the stone as Carsten's boss had finally caught up with his subordinate. I spat out a mouthful of blood, listening to the two men above me.

"What have you done you fucking moron!? I know she pissed you off back there, but you think those geezers are gonna want her now?"

Arno growled angrily at his fuming companion, gripping him by the collar. Carsten merely scoffed and shoved the balding mans hands away from him ~ even though he was only an underling he was still the stronger of the two, and also the least patient.  
"Look Arno, I don't give a fuck anymore alright? I'm cold and hungry, and this little bitch has pissed me off somethin'fierce! I just wanna teach the little fucker her place!" Carsten spat, rubbing the bite wound on his wrist harshly.

During their bickering, I slowly dragged myself across the soaking ground, the dirt and filth embedding itself into the cuts on my palms and causing me to wince with each movement. I made it about a meter, every breath I took making me want to pass out, when I received a swift and agonizing kick to the back. I cried out and tried to move, but his disgusting leather boot held my body firmly under his weight. His body leaned forward to crouch over mine, and again he yanked my head backwards by my bangs but this time, I felt a cold, sharp object pressing cruelly against my jugular. His moved his face down to my ear, pressing his vile lips against the flesh underneath. I whimpered with dismay, knowing that there was nothing more that I could do.

"I'm going to have so much fun with you princess, I like em' feisty. And when I'm through with you, you're gonna wish you'd let those old cunts fuck you instead of me."  
My eyes widened in fear, tears streaming down my cheeks now, the taste of salt mingling with the bitterness of the blood around my mouth. I felt the mans disgusting lips trace my bruised jawline and sobbed when I felt his grotesque fingers fiddling with the hem of my skirt.

"PLEASE...DON'T!" I screamed, my voice breaking as I begged my attacker to stop, though all I heard was the man's sadistic sniggering.

Arno approached us from behind, an irritated sigh escaping his lips.  
"Hey, thick shit! If you're going to do this, at least do it in the back of the cart! What did I say about drawing attention from the Military Police? I'm refuse to go to jail because of your sorry...ughhh...!"  
Arno's sentence was suddenly cut off as he let out a violent strangled cry, causing Carsten to turn his head towards his friend in confusion. The disgruntled man looked on with shocked eyes as Arno's body thudded against the ground, glass-eyed, blood streaming from an open wound on his flabby neck. Panicking, Carsten scrambled to his feet, his head darting back and forth in terror as he searched for his dead friends assailant in the dark of the night.

"COME OUT MOTHER FUCKER! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE! YOU THINK YOU CAN SCARE ME?!"

No longer under restraint and not sure what had happened to make my attacker release me so suddenly, I crawled sluggishly into the shadows of the wall behind me, listening with baited breath as Carsten yelled threats out into the night. It was then that I witnessed him. I didn't see much, the figure was draped in a dark cape of some sort that concealed his face, but I did catch a glimpse of the knife which he helf aloft in his right hand as he came flying swiftly through the air towards the man named Carsten. The conman didn't stand a chance. I watched, frightened, as his large body crumpled silently downwards, a river of blood spouting from his open throat as it fell to join his deceased companion.  
My heart thudded relentlessly inside my chest, and I struggled to keep in my terrified whimpers. Was I next on this killers list? I couldn't run away anymore. The sound of a sharp zipping and of crumbling bricks invaded my ears, closely followed by soft footfalls heading in my direction. I froze, paralysed in horror at what was to come. In a useless attempt at defending myself, sitting with my back against the wall, I pulled my bloody knees upwards and buried my face into them, trembling as I wrapped my arms around myself. I grit my teeth together, flinching as the footsteps stopped directly in front of me. I waited with baited breath for this person before me to take my life like he had with Carsten and Arno, but the moment never came. Silence surrounded us. My lip trembled in anticipation of what he'd do next. His deep voice cut through the silence suddenly, jarring me from my stupor and sending a tremor of shock through me.

"Oi, look at me."

His voice wasn't threatening, but it held an air of silent demand, and for some reason I found myself raising my aching face and looking up at him anxiously. I felt so dizzy, watching as he pulled the black hood away from his face and looked at me intently with an unfathomable expression upon his features.  
All I remember before blacking out then and there, was staring up at a pale man with raven hair, my dulled [E/C] eyes meeting his hard, steel gray ones.


	2. Friendly Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellloooooo! So this chapter has been a long time coming ~ I'm very sorry to all that were reading it! I also apologise for the crappyness of it XD But yeah, I've actually been really ill and not had much drive to write anything :( 
> 
> I hope you like this one! 
> 
> ~Leina~

Chapter 2

My head was pounding, beads of sweat falling from my forehead and down to my temple. Slowly, as my mind was pulled back into the waking world, I began to feel the familiar aching of over-taxed muscles and the stinging of flesh wounds on my legs and hands. My [E/C] eyes cracked open reluctantly, and I stared up at a wooden ceiling above me. It took me a few moments to realise that I didn't know where I was, my mind was scrambled from the mish-mash of the horrifying dreams I'd just awoken from. I felt the anxiety growing as my heart began to beat faster inside my ribcage, suddenly recalling all that had happened earlier. I pushed my upper body into a sitting position from the simple bed that I lay in, wincing as pressure was placed on my torn up palms. Bringing the raw digits up into view, I inspected them briefly. They were sliced up, although surprisingly clean. 

It was at this point that I realised that I'd been changed out of my dirty dress, now adorning a plain, slightly large white shirt that reached just above my bruised kneecaps. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my erratic heartbeat and piece together some information. My saviour, the man with the piercing grey eyes who murdered my captors. He must have been the one who brought me here and cleaned my wounds, so I couldn't be in TOO much trouble, right? Why would he go to the trouble of carting a half dead woman to his home, let alone clean her wounds and give her fresh clothing? 

Unless he planned on selling me like Carsten and Arno had. 

My mind poked a terrifying hole into my logic. It was perfectly plausible here in the Underground. Women were of little to no use for the disgusting men down here, most ended up working willingly as cheap prostitutes, a frightening amount were sold as sex slaves to those few who could afford it. It was a sickening thought. 

I looked around my surroundings, wrapping my thin arms around my body. I was inside a small room, wooden panelling lined the floor, walls and ceiling. In the right hand corner, there was a small table accompanied by a single roughly carved stool, with an unlit candle sitting atop of it. The air in the room smelled of a dull piney scent, and from what I could see, very well cared for and clean. 

I was interrupted from my assessment of my surroundings by the sound of heavy footsteps on creaking wood. My breath hitched in my throat, fear filling up my senses as the sound got closer and closer to the door of the room. Pulling the plain bedsheets up to my face, I shuffled into the corner of the bed, every aching muscle in my body tensing as I awaited my fate. The footsteps stopped just outside the door, and listening like a Hawk I could hear two voices trying and failing to whisper. 

“Be quiet you idiot! She's probably still asleep! We're supposed to be checking up on her, not waking her up!” 

I listened to a not so quiet higher pitched female voice retort to the male, confusion eating away at me.

“I know that, moron! Besides, you're the one with the big mouth and giant clown feet! Aniki asked ME to keep and eye on her not you, you're just a pervert!”

The male voice sighed audibly, and I heard the door begin to creak. 

“Just keep your mouth shut for a minute Isabel. I'm going inside.”  
A tall, sandy haired man stepped into the room slowly, and I immediately locked eyes with his widening ones. This definitely wasn't the one who saved me last night. A small girl with a messy head of read hair stepped out from behind the blonde, impatience radiating from her tiny stature. I glanced at her briefly, before lowering my gaze to the floor and tightening the sheets around myself. The man's lower octave d voice reached my ears, surprising me by speaking in a soft tone. 

“You're awake.” He moved cautiously towards the edge of my bed, perfectly aware that I was a little frightened by their presence. My [E/C] eyes flickered up to meet his again, trying to stem my fear. 

“Where am I...?” It was the first time I'd attempted to use my voice since all of the gasping and screaming I'd done last night. My throat was quite sore and I sounded raspy as I spoke. Before he could reply, the red head ran forward and leapt onto the end of my bed with a laugh, leaning forward on all fours until she was firmly invading my personal space. I leaned backwards a little, looking from her grinning expression to the man's, who was standing holding his palm to his face.

“You're in our house! Isn't it awesome?! Aniki told us to clean this room up for you to stay in until you got better, he's a nice guy like that. I did the most work though, Farlan here is a lazy ass! It's great that you're awake now, I wanted to ask you some questions!” 

She spoke so much and so quickly that it was a struggle to process what she had said. My eyes must have conveyed my confusion, because the male beside me snapped at the young girl, who had flopped down onto her stomach, propping her head up with two hands .

“ISABEL. Calm the hell down. Stop acting like an idiot and give the girl some space, will you?!” 

The girl named Isabel pouted, rolling onto her back before pushing herself up to sit cross legged in front of me. 

“Geez Farlan, you're such a buzz-kill. She's not scared of us, are you lady?” She looked at me with hopeful, green eyes that were just willing me to agree with her and take her side over her companions. I couldn't help but let out a tiny chuckle. This kid was cute. She had a shit tonne of attitude, for sure, but cute none the less. 

“....No, I'm not scared of you...” I replied weakly. In truth, I was still a little shaken, after all, these people were strangers to me. And life so far had taught me to be extremely wary of the unknown. I made eye contact with the man named Farlan. He was smiling at me, running his fingers through his straw like locks. I looked away again sheepishly. 

“SEE!? I told you so Farlan, I'm always right!” Isabel threw her arms into the air triumphantly and held them behind her head. Farlan sighed, shaking his head at his energetic friend. It was clear to me that these two, though they bickered back and forth, cared about each other a great deal. I envied them a little.

Farlan strode over to the corner of the room and grabbed the stool from beside the table, dragging it carelessly across the wooden floor towards my bed and taking a seat on it. The loud scraping sound it aggravated my headache. He looked directly at me with his cool azure eyes. 

“So, I guess we should formally introduce ourselves. My name is Farlan Church, and this little punk is Isabel Magnolia.” Isabel's face contorted into one of annoyance. “Hey! Who're you calling a punk!? I'll kick your ass!” I bit back a smile at her words, Farlan chose to ignore her. 

“Would it be ok for us to ask you for your name, miss? Levi didn't tell us much about what happened last night, but from the state you were in it must have been something pretty bad.” 

His expression became sympathetic, I hated it. Isabel was staring at me like a hungry dog, eager to snap up information about me. Levi. I thought. So that was the name of the killer from last night. I could still remember his intense, silver eyes staring at my shivering form through the darkness. It made me shiver. That somebody had the skill and power to take a life so easily was a grim thought, though I was obviously grateful he'd been there to help me. 

“Hey, Lady!” Isabel's shrill voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked at her apologetically. 

“Oh, I'm sorry...I, I was just thinking about...well, never mind. My name is....[F/N]....[F/N] [L/N]...”

Farlan smiled at me, a gentle expression on his face and Isabel grinned, bouncing towards me again on the bed. I winced as her small, yet muscular form collided with my frail one, her slim arms wrapping around my neck in an affectionate gesture. 

“It's great having another girl in the house [F/N] Nee-san! You're going to stay with us right? I mean, you don't really have anywhere else to go, right?! I'm sure Aniki won't mind!” Her excited voice squealed close to my ear. I grimaced and tensed automatically as the bruised muscles on my shoulders were squeezed by the energetic girl, but sucked in a deep breath and smiled kindly down at her. She seemed so carefree and happy for a little girl who was brought up down here in these slums. 

Farlan chuckled and reached over to put a hand on Isabel's shoulder, coaxing the girl to release me from her iron like grip. 

“Isabel, don't just decide things on your own. You know that Levi make the rules.” Isabel frowned, still gripping my shoulders painfully. I didn't have the heart to ask her to move, but I was becoming more and more uncomfortable. My headache was making me feel dizzy and I quite enjoyed the thought of laying back down on the soft bed sheets and sleeping some more. 

“But why wouldn't Aniki let Leina-Chan stay with us? It's too dangerous for her out there!” 

“Isabel. You're hurting her.” All three of us startled as a deep voice uttered calmly from the doorway. Once again, my [E/C] eyes made contact with those mysterious grey ones, only this time I could get a much better view of the details on the man's face. Raven locks of hair fell from an odd parting on his head over his pale face. It was styled into a rough undercut, but it suited him very well. The way his eyebrows were inset and almost frowning gave him a sort of permanent stoic expression, in a handsome way. And his gaze was almost too intense for me to handle. I let a sigh of relief pass my chapped lips as Isabel jumped away from me, immediately obeying the raven haired mans request.

“I'm sorry Aniki!” She spoke sheepishly, running a hand through those firey locks of hers. I could tell right away that Levi was somebody that the young girl respected a great deal, it was quite sweet. Farlan snickered at her and she threw him a dirty look, sticking out her tongue definitely. 

I fiddled awkwardly with the sheets that covered my lower body as he made his way further into the room, and tried to look at anything except his scrutinising gaze. There was something about his presence that demanded respect, he emitted an intimidating aura. He stood a few steps away from the bed now, and I noticed that he was carrying a small, brown bottle and a piece of woven cloth in his left hand.  
Before anyone else had the chance to speak, his voice had cut us off. 

“Isabel, Farlan. There's some chores that need finishing out back. You know the standards that I expect, and right now everything looks like shit.” The expression on Isabel's face at the males comment made the corner of my mouth twitch upwards. She looked furious, though she merely let out an enormous sigh and jumped up onto her feet, huffily exiting the room. Farlan nodded at his friend lightly, turning and flashing me an encouraging smile before following the red head out of the room. 

The door closed behind him, and Levi and myself were left alone. I felt extremely uncomfortable, not really knowing what to say to this strong person in front of me. And so I chose to remain silent for the moment, lowering my gaze to my tightened knuckles that were gripping the sheets forcefully. A few quiet seconds passed and then I felt the bed shift and dip as Levi sat down beside me. He was leaning towards my torso, his fingers reaching in the direction of my face, and I instinctively panicked and shuffled back and away from his hand, my [E/C] widening in confusion. 

“W..what are you doing?” I trembled, staring at his solid figure with apprehension. A deep sigh passed his lips.

“You have a bad cut on your temple. It needs to be cleaned.” 

As if by command of his words, a raging stinging pain radiated from the right side of my forehead. I hadn't even realised that I was wounded there. My fingers shot up to the source, and I hissed when they made contact. There was blood on my fingertips when I brought them back down to eye level, and I began to feel nauseous. 

“Fuck!” The curse escaped my lips before I'd even processed the word in my head, and I had to lean back against the headboard as a wave of dizziness passed over me. Levi looked unperturbed by my sudden outburst. In fact, his expression was now one of mild annoyance. Without giving me a chance to refuse and with an air of dominance he had entered my personal space, gripping my chin firmly and gently tilted my face to the side to allow better access. Heat flushed to my cheeks pathetically, my breathing speeding up considerably, but I resigned myself to Levi's will. The ointment from the bottle was applied to the broken flesh on my head, Levi applying light pressure to ensure that the liquid would have the best effect, though it hurt like hell. I could feel his breath on my forehead, further warming my already heated skin. Gritting my teeth together, I tried to focus on anything else in the room, rather than how close this man was to me at the moment. A few awkward minutes passed in silence, though to me it felt like a few hours. Levi surveyed his handiwork briefly, making sure that my wound was fully tended to. I watched him pop the lid of the ointment back onto the bottle before he stood up without a word and took a few steps toward the door. 

“W..wait!” I blurted out frantically, surprising myself. The raven haired man stopped in his tracks, angling his muscular body towards me as he waited for what I had to say. A wave of panicked thoughts flooded my mind as I tried to think of what I actually wanted to say. It didn't seem right to just let the man who'd gone out of his way to save and take care of me leave without so much as a word of thanks, though he didn't really strike you as the type to care much about formalities. Lowering my face, I watched my hands grasp at each other nervously. I forced myself to spit out some words.

“Thank you....you know....for everything.” I looked up to catch a quick nod of his head, those slate grey eyes of his meeting mine for a brief moment before he turned away and continued on his original path. Levi stopped once more at the door, and sensing he was about to speak I held my breath lightly. 

“Get some sleep, you need to leave here tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked my first chapter! It makes me feel sad! Please feel free to leave critiques and comments! <3
> 
> ~Leina~


End file.
